Jones insists more is to come from ‘Championship’ striker Hylton

Mike Simmonds

Hatters boss Nathan Jones believes there is even more room for improvement from his ‘Championship’ striker Danny Hylton.

Town’s leading scorer is now on 18 goals in just 32 games for the season, his best ever tally in a 10-year professional career encompassing spells at Aldershot, Bury, Rotherham, AFC Wimbledon and Oxford United.

Danny Hylton nets his 18th of the season on Tuesday night

Hylton has bagged 16 on two previous occasions, in 2014-15 with Oxford and 2011-12 with Aldershot and on his return this year, Jones joked: “Well he’s working with the best manager now I imagine!

“No, he’s done superbly well, he’s done what it said on the tin really, and I’m pleased for Danny.

“He’s taken on board lots of stuff, there’s a lot more scope for him to learn as well, in terms of discipline wise.

“Because he would have played four more games, and who knows how many he would have?

We knew what we were getting when we did sign him and that’s why went early and heavy for him.

Nathan Jones

“But we can’t take too much away from him because we know what we get from him.

“He’s the spearhead of a very good team and we’re pleased to have him. We knew what we were getting when we did sign him and that’s why went early and heavy for him.

“He’s been wonderful and he brings so much more than a performance on a Saturday to the building.

“He’s popular and people want him to do well, his team-mates want him to do well. Then coupled with the others we’ve got, we have a good strikeforce.”

After scoring for the third game in a row against Hartlepool during Town’s 3-0 win on Tuesday night, Hylton should have had a second early in the second half, when after doing superbly to create the opportunity, he blasted over.

It’s one area that Jones is looking for more from Hylton as he added: “Danny had a couple of chances to make it a little bit more comfortable sooner and we didn’t take those.

“That’s what we’ve got to add to Danny if we’re trying to improve him. I believe he’s a Championship player, playing in League Two.

“Those are the kind of things that send him on another level. When he does all the hard work and all the graft, then has he got that cool head?

“We’ve asked certain things of him. We get in so many good positions in games, then we ask for a little bit of cleverness at times, because people get a lot of blocks against us.

“So we’ve asked for a little bit more cleverness and I think that’s the only thing we lacked really.”